Francis of Baux (french: François des Baux, it, Francesco del Balzo; c. 1330Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 401. – 23 April 1422) was the first Duke of Andria, Count of

Montescaglioso Montescaglioso ( Montese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, including production of renowned oil and wine, as well as traditional food. Historically, i ...

and

Squillace Squillace ( grc, Σκυλλήτιον ''Skylletion''; grc-x-medieval, Σκυλάκιον ''Skylakion'') is an ancient town and ''comune'', in the Province of Catanzaro, part of Calabria, southern Italy, facing the Gulf of Squillace. Squillace ...

, and Lord of Berre, Mison, and Tiano. He was the son of Bertrand III of Baux, Count of Andria and Montescaglioso and his second wife, Marguerite d'Aulnay. Francis's father was a Senator of Rome, Captain General of Tuscany, and Justiciar of Naples. The half-royal Baux family was one of the greatest families of the kingdom after the Duke's marriage to Marguerite of Taranto in 1348.Kenneth Meyer Setton. ''A History of the Crusades: Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,'' edited by Harry W. Hazard. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1969. pg 142-46.

Status

In 1349, Francis was given an extensive grant by Louis, Prince of Taranto. Prince Louis had married

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest ...

in 1346 as her second husband, and had become

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

; he was crowned in 1352/53. The King was brother to Francis's second wife, Margaret, whom he had married in 1348. Francis was created Duke of Andria and was the first magnate to be raised to ducal dignity in the kingdom. Andria had been a royal fief which the Duke's father received from Beatrice of Anjou, by virtue of her dower.Welbore St. Clair Baddeley. ''Robert the Wise and His Heirs, 1278-1352,'' W. Heinemann, 1897. pg 463.

Civil war

On the death of

Philip II, Prince of Taranto Philip II (1329 – 25 November 1373) of the Angevin house, was Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip III) from 1364 to his death in 1373. He was the son of Philip I of Taranto and Catherine ...

in 1373, Marguerite and Francis claimed

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

and Philip's Greek lands (chiefly the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

and its dependent territories) and titles for themselves and their son, James of Baux, as the last male descendant of

Philip I, Prince of Taranto Philip I of Taranto (10 November 1278 – 26 December 1331), of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip II) by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of A ...

. Margaret's claim was supported by

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

. Queen Joanna, however, decided to exercise direct rule over the Prince of Taranto's Greek possessions. In April 1374, Queen Joanna decided to suppress the family and stripped Francis of all his lands and titles. This action led to a civil war between the Queen and the Baux family. An account is recorded in the Aragonese version of the ''

Chronicle of the Morea The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' ( el, Τὸ χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως) is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''Chr ...

''.

Family

Francis married three times.
In 1337, he married Luisa de San Severino, daughter of Tommaso III de San Severino, Count of Marsico; they had no children. In 1348, Francis married Margaret of Taranto, daughter of

by his second wife,

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of Englan ...

. She died about September 1380 in imprisonment. They had: * James of Baux, Prince of Achaea and the last titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. *

Antonia of Baux Antonia of Baux ( it, Antonia del Balzo; c. 1353 – 23 January 1375), was an Italian noblewoman member of the French House of Baux (italianized as del Balzo) and by marriage Queen consort of Sicily, Duchess consort of Athens and Neopatras. B ...

, queen consort to Frederick III, King of Sicily. In 1381, Francis married Sueva Orsini, daughter of Nicolo Orsini by his first wife, Jeanne de Sabran. They had: * Margaret of Baux; mother of

Jacquetta of Luxembourg Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Bedford and Countess Rivers (1415 or 1416 – 30 May 1472) was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, bro ...

. *William of Baux (Guglielmo del Balzo), Duke of Andria, married Maria Brunforte, by whom he had issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis of Baux House of Baux 1330s births 1422 deaths Year of birth uncertain Court of Joanna I of Naples